Whether you are working from home or you have an office, having a clean working environment means a clear mind. A clean workplace will not only enhance your productivity but also give a positive impression to both your clients and employees.

You, therefore, need to ensure that your office and personal desk space is clean and kept on top of, as much as possible. To help you do this, LCS’s office cleaning experts have put together six nifty office cleaning tips and tricks to keep your space spic and span. Check out our janitorial page before you start to check you have everything you need.

Once you’ve done that, let’s get started!

Clear the clutter

In most modern offices, you’ll usually a collection of clutter in the form of extra copies of paperwork, unopened junk mail, wrappers and to-do lists. This might end up creating a negative image if the mess is left to worsen until it becomes unmanageable and a laborious task to address.

Start by being proactive and looking for anything you can get rid of, at any time to keep desk space clear and avoid build up of paperwork. Have a regular ‘bigger’ clear out at least once a week – often staff find this useful to do at the beginning or end of the week as a good way to refresh or reset your organisation. A clear desk is a clear mind!

Clean your electronics

Have you ever had a keyboard full of crumbs and food splattered on the monitor? Although eating at your desk may impress your boss, it might end up leaving your office in a mess. Thankfully, fixing this is very easy. Just wipe down your phone, keyboard and mouse at the start of each day, every other day, with some multipurpose disinfectant like this and a microfiber cloth.

Screen wipes are best for monitor screens and should be used just as regularly. This will not only help keep the winter germs away but also prevent the debris and dust from affecting your machine.

Organise your work

Although this is very simple, many people rarely organise their workplace. One of the biggest stresses are the piles of paper on the shelves desk and floor. The idea is to come up with proper systems for placing any items that you need to keep them in an ordered manner, so that you can implement this system as you go. Get file folders, trays, and labels, or request your employers provide these for you, if they haven’t already.

Get rid of the junk

Do you still need those files or business cards that you purchased five years back? Are those broken stationery items still worth keeping? To ensure that your office remains clean you need to be ruthless with all your clutter, space-wasters and freebies. If you’re unsure about an item, just do the bottom drawer test: leave it in the bottom drawer for a month, and if you didn’t miss it, get rid.

Focus on the floor to keep focused on work

Paper scraps, hairs, odd crumbs – there’s a multitude of things that always make it to the floor and after a while, your team will really notice it – even looking down at your office floor may be a distraction! To ensure that you remain grounded in your work, make sure your floor is clean. If you don’t have the time to do this yourself, bring in a helping hand such as ourselves.

Take a Picture

Many people have items on their desk to help them remember to do something, from empty ink cartridges that need refilling to articles, and random post-its. If you have something on your desk simply for reference, take a picture instead and set a reminder on your phone to do the task you need to do, at a specific time. That way you actively plan in the task rather than ignoring it over and over again, and reduce stress by getting the reminder item way and out of sight until you need to be reminded.

When you know the basic tips and tricks, cleaning your office gets easier. While cleaning the office is the first step, it’s best for you to maintain the cleanliness and processes of keeping on top of clutter by continually dealing with mess as it starts to accumulate.